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Hong Kong & Vietnam 2018

June - July 2018
A 23-day adventure by Tastes Like Chicken Read more
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  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 10

    Hanoi 3

    June 24, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Vietnam day 5 checklist:

    Heat - check
    Humidity- double check
    Sweating, red faced Canadians dragging their sorry asses around - check
    Traffic, horns, and general mayhem - check

    After breakfast we walked over to the Vietnam Military History Museum, which is pretty self-explanatory by name. It’s interesting to read about, and see pictures of, the Vietnam war from a different perspective. We got to the museum just as they were closing for their 1 1/2 hour lunch break so first we crossed the street to take a photo of the largest statue of Lenin outside the old U.S.S.R. (Braeden says he has a complicated relationship with Vlad), then we walked over to a nearby cafe, ordered coffees, and poached their Wifi and a/c until the museum reopened. About 3/4 of the exhibits were dedicated to the American war, as they call it, including a large outdoor area of various American tanks, helicopters, and airplanes captured or shot down during the war.
    After the museum Braeden and I decided to check out a nearby citadel, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, while Nat and Keegan sought out some a/c for a bit of respite from the heat. The citadel was old, had thick stone walls, and I’m sure somewhat interesting but I was hot and tired and couldn’t give a rats ass about anything at that point so can’t say much more about it.
    After we wrapped up visiting the old stone place we met up with Nat and Keegan and slowly made our way back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. It’s fascinating to walk through the streets of the Old Quarter of Hanoi because you see so many different and unusual (to us) things. A single block can contain dozens and dozens of shops, all in tiny spaces no larger than the size of a small walk-in closet. Hardware stores, repair shops (the majority of repairs I have seen done are to scooters and electric fans), shoe stores, clothing stores, restaurants, and any other shop you can name, all crammed from floor to ceiling, front to back with their wares. Most don’t even have room for the proprietor so many sit on a small stool just outside their shops.
    For dinner we heeded the cravings of a certain unnamed member of our family and decided on an American restaurant (run by a South African with Vietnamese staff) that served burgers. We weren’t expecting much, but damn, the food was terrific. The burger I had easily slid into my top 5 all time. Cold beer and the World Cup on tv rounded out a damn near perfect dinner.
    Tomorrow we fly down to Hue, in central coastal Vietnam. It’s a much smaller city than Hanoi so maybe not quite as chaotic (fingers crossed). We did find Hanoi to be very interesting. I know I’ve bitched a lot about the heat, noise and chaos but it was definitely worth the experience.
    We have a bit of Delhi belly going through the family right now, or as Braeden puts it “god-damned Dukoral doesn’t work worth shit”. Hopefully it will be over and done with shortly and that will be it for the duration of the trip.    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 11

    Hue

    June 25, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Today was a relatively uneventful day as it was a travel day. We were leaving Hanoi when we saw our first minor accidents, something I’m surprised we didn’t see more of. A couple scooters both zigged instead of zagged and had a connection, and another scooter was taken out by a car door. Neither looked to be very serious.

    Hanoi airport was significantly busier today than when we arrived on Wednesday, with long lines at check-in and security. We had to be vigilant about keeping our spot in line as some people were constantly looking to take advantage of the unaware.

    This was a domestic flight within Vietnam but was the first security area we encountered this trip where shoes had to be off, always a favourite. Hanoi airport has a strange set-up with the arrivals terminal a fair distance from the departure terminal, so every outbound passenger has to be bussed to their plane. Not the most efficient airport I’ve seen.

    Our flight was only an hour so we arrived in Hue mid-afternoon and were at our hotel about 45 minutes later. After check-in, a short walk for ice cream became a long walk as our navigator is under the weather and stayed in the room. We did walk past a durian vendor who was doing a booming business. We are planning to try some this trip but haven’t built up the nerve yet. Dinner was some decent Mexican (with $2.50 mango margaritas. I mean come on), as we’re having a hard time getting back to Vietnamese food.    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 12

    Hue 2

    June 26, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    A relatively low key day today as I had an urgent need to, shall we say, remain within sprinting distance of the facilities (tmi?), so I stayed behind while the rest of the gang explored some of the ancient sights of Hue. They visited the Imperial Citadel, which was the Imperial City of the Nguyen Dynasty. Only 10 buildings out of 160 remain as the rest were destroyed by the Anti-French Resistance War, and the Vietnam War.
    The town of Hue is a nice change of pace from Hanoi. Less traffic and noise, much more small town and peaceful. It has also been a little cooler, particularly in the evenings which makes it nice to walk about. A significant number of dogs look to have free reign throughout the town. Most are the funniest looking things, they seem be a mix of every known breed to man. They don’t appear to be aggressive in any way, they just go about their business which is mostly scavenging for food. Not sure how they survive the scooter traffic though. Most of the tourists here are young Australians and Brits who stay at any one of a large number of local hostels.
    Later this afternoon I was feeling better so we went out for coffee. I had my first coconut coffee which is simply strong Vietnamese coffee poured over coconut ice cream. Probably not the best thing to have but it was awfully good. The others had Vietnamese coffee made the traditional way with a stainless steel single cup coffee filter. Dinner tonight was at a restaurant serving Vietnamese and western cuisine. I was the only one to have Vietnamese - pork bun cha, which was the same dish Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama enjoyed together in Hanoi. A really good dish.
    Tomorrow morning we hop on the train for the 3 hour journey down the coast to Hoi An where we hope to enjoy some beach time. I’ve read mixed reviews of the Vietnamese rail system so could be an interesting experience.    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 13

    Stupid Train

    June 27, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Worst. Train. Ever.
    My fears came true today with our shitty train ride from Hue to Da Nang. The train left 1 1/2 hours late, ran slower than scheduled, had little to no a/c, and had roaches and rodents as passengers.
    We sat in the steaming death box for a good 45 minutes before departing due to the single track line being occupied with another train, and it went downhill from there. All in all an awful, awful ride. We’ve been very happy with the Vietnamese airlines we’ve been flying on, but the train - never again.

    We did meet a mid-20’s British woman who has travelled extensively and is currently on a 6 month solo trek through Nepal, Vietnam, and India. She said she has never really felt unsafe anywhere but could do without the constant marriage proposals she receives as a single female traveller.

    We met up with our driver at the Da Nang train station and had an uneventful 30 minute drive to Hoi An. We really like Hoi An, in particular the area where we are staying. It has a bit more of a European flavour to it, very laid back. We will be checking out the beach sometime in the next couple of days which will be a nice change. We had a mix of Vietnamese and western food for dinner tonight, and are planning on having Greek tomorrow night because isn’t that what you go to Vietnam for?
    And Germany just got knocked out of the World Cup - god dammit!    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 14

    Hoi An

    June 28, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We all slept in a bit this morning, I guess we needed to sleep off the stench of yesterday’s train ride. One more item from yesterday. An announcement was made that our train would be late arriving to pick us up in Hue, first in Vietnamese, then English. No idea what was said in Vietnamese but the English announcement was “blah blah blah the train will be late blah blah blah we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and hope to receive your sympathies”. Hmmm, those would be some misdirected sympathies.

    Our hotel’s breakfast was decent. The highlight of our breakfast is usually the fresh fruit and fruit juice - mango, pineapple, dragon fruit, passion fruit, Vietnamese orange, and that devil fruit, watermelon (I’ll take the word of the others on that one). All the fruit is perfectly ripe and full of flavour - even the bananas taste different (better) here.

    We set out after breakfast to explore Hoi An. Today is the first day since arriving in Vietnam with blue sky and sunshine. Not necessarily a good thing though as we had to do the shade seeking strut - walk quickly through the sun into some shade, pause for a bit, repeat. The last place we did this was in Madrid, where it was also stinking hot. Nat gave up after about an hour or so and returned to our hotel while the boys and I soldiered on. We explored for a while longer before having a break at a local coffee roastery, sitting beside a huge fan while enjoying some iced beverages.

    We’ve noticed a lot more tourists in Hoi An than the other parts of Vietnam we’ve visited. Australians, Europeans, and lots of Chinese. The Chinese tour groups are pretty funny to watch. They all wear the same shirts or hats supplied by the tour company, all of the woman walk with open umbrellas, all of the men have huge DSLR cameras around their necks, and they dutifully follow their guide who carries a long pole with a stuffed animal mounted to the top. They are also the only ones seemingly oblivious to the honking of scooters as they block the roadways to take pictures.

    After our drink break we returned to our hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the rooftop pool. The pool is situated mere steps from our room and as we were the only ones there the entire time, it was like having our own private area to enjoy.

    Dinner was Greek and was good, with slightly suffocating service due to an over abundance of eager staff. We then joined the hordes to walk about the old town and view all the lanterns lit up after dark.

    World Cup Football dribble:
    My head is still spinning over Germany’s loss yesterday. What the hell was that? This was not the plan. It was probably those green uni’s they were wearing. Not sure who to cheer for now. Certainly not Brazil and that serial flopper Neymar. England? Never those wankers. Love Messi so maybe if Argentina gets through, but can I cheer for the same team as that idiot Maradona? Or perhaps the ever hungry Suarez and Uruguay?    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 15

    Hoi An 2

    June 29, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Beach day. The perfect antidote to the 38 C weather. We went to the beautiful An Bang beach, about 4 km from our hotel. Golden sand, clear water, uncrowded, beer served on the beach, it was almost perfect.

    There were plenty of palapas with beach chairs available for rent. They are governed by employees of the various restaurants lining the beach so you can choose to either pay the daily rate of 100,000 dong (about $5.75) or eat at the restaurant and get the beach chair for “free”. We chose the food route. The food turned out to be nothing more than something to fill our belly’s, totally forgettable, but hey, at least our beach chairs were “free”.

    The water was fantastic, sandy bottom, a gentle slope out, enough wave action to keep us happy, and no jellyfish. Keegan was in it for hours. And there was a stiff breeze coming off the water that kept the temps bearable. It was a nice sweat-free day.

    In the pictures below you’ll notice a round boat, which is a basket boat that fisherman use in the area. The boats are made of woven bamboo, coated in waterproof resin, and are manoeuvred by a single oar in a short back and forth waving motion. We did see a couple of fisherman heading out in their boats until they were hundreds of yards off shore. The paddling doesn’t look like it would be very efficient but seems to work. Apparently when the French arrived in Vietnam they started to levy taxes on everything, including boats. The fisherman, worried about being unable to pay the tax and endangering their livelihood, came up with these basket boats and argued that they were not boats at all but baskets. The French accepted this and they were able to avoid paying the tax.

    Dinner tonight was Italian, which was pretty decent. Pasta was perfectly cooked and tasty, and Keegan scarfed down his pizza, not unusual but he said it was very good. Mexican, Indian, Greek, Italian, American, all on our Vietnam vacation. Shows you where Vietnamese food ranks with us.

    Off to Da Nang tomorrow to overnight before flying out to Ho Chi Minh City the next day.

    A couple stories:
    The other day, driving in from Da Nang to Hoi An after the train, we passed several rice fields lining the road. Standing just off the side of the road, in the shade of a large tree, was a gigantic water buffalo with a woman lounging on her side along it’s back. Today, driving to the beach there was the water buffalo again, this time lying down with a woman lounging on it’s back. On our return from the beach the animal was once again standing, with a woman reclining on top of it. I don’t know if it’s the communal resting spot but it was quite funny to see. I would have taken a picture but that would have meant extricating my fingernails from the front dash of our taxi. There is tailgating, and then there is tailgating Vietnam style.

    During some of our past longer vacations we’ve had need to get our clothes cleaned. We’ve always used a self-serve laundromat, sitting for hours waiting for our clothes to be done. In Vietnam they have laundry services, drop off or pick up. Your laundry is carted away somewhere (the river perhaps? I don’t really want to know) and returns the next day clean, dry, and folded. All for a much lesser cost than any do it yourself laundromat we’ve used. Across from our current hotel, sitting beside a hand made “Laundry” sign, is a little old Vietnamese lady who always waves and smiles at us as we walk by. In need of some clean clothes (particularly Keegan, he’s currently wearing a hoodie and jeans), the boys and I lugged our stinking pile of clothes across the street to this woman. All she had at her disposal was a very old scale to weigh the clothes (you pay by the kg). Not a washer in sight. She weighed ours, told us how much it would be, and said we can pick up tomorrow at 9:00 am. No receipt, no ticket, nothing. I have nothing to show that I dropped off our clothes with her. I trust she’s legit, I mean who would want some sweaty, dirty tourists clothes, but you never know. Money is pretty tight here for a lot of people. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. Keegan may be in his hoodie for a while.    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 16

    Da Nang

    June 30, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    First off, we got our laundry back, all clean, dried, and folded. And, I managed to get a picture of the water buffalo as we left Hoi An today.

    Not too much other action on an obscenely warm day. It was in the upper 40’s with the heat index, so not a whole lot of desire to do too much outdoor activities. We left Hoi An for Da Nang late morning, about 26 km away. The drive between the two cities follows a long stretch of beach with several huge resorts by all the usual suspects - Hyatt, Sheraton, Melia etc...

    We got to our hotel in Da Nang late morning and cooled off in our room for a bit before deciding to risk the weather and see if we could find a place on the beach to relax. We walked along the shore for a distance (warm water on our feet, sauna like breeze - it didn’t exactly have the desired cooling effect) until we stopped at a beachside stand for refreshments. One dollar for a can of cold beer, shade, and a stiff breeze coming off the water did wonders for us. We sat there for a couple hours pondering life, mortality, and the meaning of our existence (uh-huh, the only thing on my mind was drinking my beer fast enough before it got warm) before deciding to trek back to the hotel and the a/c.

    Da Nang is by far the most modern Vietnamese city we have been to. A lot of newer buildings and tree-lined boulevards exist and new construction is going up everywhere. It has, over the past decade or so, built itself up as the tech hub of Vietnam. This is the first area in Vietnam where I’ve seen any type of luxury vehicle. Any automobile is considered a luxury item here. A new imported vehicle is subject to a 70% tax and the larger cities charge a further 15 - 20% registration fee.

    Indian for dinner tonight. Two really good Indian meals here, who would have thought.

    A full day in Da Nang tomorrow before flying to Ho Chi Minh City in the evening.    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 17

    Da Nang 2

    July 1, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We had some hours to kill before our flight in the evening so after breakfast we headed out to see Da Nang. It was a little cooler today - only 44 so we were raring to go............. ahem. We took a cab to the Dragon Bridge, so named because it was made to look like a dragon, and walked across the bridge into the city centre area. We were sitting in the shade on the other side having a rest, enjoying the breeze when, unfortunately for Braeden, he had a bird shit on his head (that’s what you get for choosing not to wear a hat - I’m sure it’s a sign of good luck somewhere). A good laugh for the rest of us but if you know Braeden, you know how well bird crap on his head went over with him.

    We found a Baskin Robins nearby and stopped for ice cream and a head wash. We then made our way to a nearby shopping centre for some a/c, and the purchase of a couple shirts for Keegan (no more running out of clothes for him). Sufficiently cooled, we made our way back across another bridge to another shopping centre. This one contained a grocery store that carried seemingly everything, a Superstore type of store but much much smaller. There was a lot of security at the entrance, exits, and roaming the store. I counted at least 7. I don’t know if the Vietnamese have a hot-fingered reputation or not but you weren’t going to get away with taking anything from there. I guess the store owners figure the cost of security out weighs the shrinkage from theft. There was some strange looking stuff in the store, I had a hard time identifying what was inside the packaging, and there was some really odd looking items in the produce section that I couldn’t even begin to guess what they were. I didn’t check the meat section too carefully for fear of seeing something I didn’t want to see. We bought some junk food (cookies and potato chip packaging is pretty universal) and continued walking about the mall. The top floor had a food court so I wanted to have a look at that, and saw something I didn’t expect to see, an ice rink with real ice. Lots of kids racing around on the ice, having fun and staying cool.

    We took a cab back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and then we cabbed it to the airport. We were starving by the time we got there so after we cleared security we checked out our dinner options - Pho, Banh Mi with mystery meat of suspect origins, or Burger King. Guess what we chose. Ugh. Should have had the Banh Mi.

    Our flight was pretty bumpy, our first one this trip with any kind of real turbulence. Our hotel neglected to send a pre-arranged car to pick us up, and now we are in our 3rd different room as the a/c wasn’t working in the previous 2. Not a good start. I blame it all on the bird shit.    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 18

    Ho Chi Minh City

    July 2, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Today started out with a disappointing breakfast at our hotel. I think that’s about the 4th strike against them now. We have done well with our other hotel choices thus far but this one is a bit of a dump. Our experience here certainly hasn’t matched the online pictures and reviews.

    We found a French bakery not too far from our hotel and topped off our minimal breakfast with some baked goods. Not the best croissants I’ve had but decent enough.

    Ho Chi Minh City is much more cosmopolitan than Hanoi, and about 30 years ahead of it in terms of modernization. There is also more of a French influence here. As a pedestrian it is much easier to navigate the streets as the sidewalks and storefronts are generally what you would see in North America or Europe.

    After our second breakfast, we headed to the War Remnants Museum which features a very detailed and graphic look at the Vietnam War. It was of course from a Vietnamese point of view, but it was very sobering and you don’t come out of there feeling very positive about the Americans (unlike now....... wait what?) I found myself wishing I had something visible on me identifying myself as Canadian. I’m sure the Aussie’s in there felt the same.

    The weather today was a little more bearable as it was fairly windy at times, so walking wasn’t as great an issue. After the museum we made a longish trek to a craft beer joint (the Winking Seal - run by Aussies) and enjoyed some good beer and snacks. We asked our bartender how strict they are about the legal age in Vietnam, he said it’s generally ignored, so Keegan joined us with a small sampler sized beer. To add to that, at dinner tonight when we were finishing, the waiter brought us 4 shots of lemongrass flavoured vodka. No questions were asked about Keegan’s age.

    By the time we left the Winking Seal (is spending a good chunk of an afternoon drinking beer with your not of age children considered a bad thing?) it was rush hour and my oh my, the volume of vehicles on the road was something to see. Not volume caused by a traffic jam but just the sheer amount of vehicles on the road. So far we have encountered many more controlled crosswalks here than Hanoi and in spite of the volume, have found it easier to cross.

    Dinner tonight was at a place called Propaganda Vietnamese Bistro which has stellar modern Vietnamese cuisine and a tongue in cheek view of communist propaganda.

    Tomorrow morning we are taking a scooter tour of the city, starting right smack in the middle of rush hour (we ride on the back with lovely young Vietnamese ladies driving). We had to provide our full names to them for insurance purposes. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

    A couple things:
    Like a lot of places in the world, World Cup fever has gripped this city. When games are on, in the late evening here, there are tv’s and projection screens set up everywhere, storefronts, alleys, sidewalks. We were walking back from dinner tonight while the Brazil/Mexico game was on and I had no trouble following the action as we walked along.

    Earlier today we passed a shop that caught my eye. Seated on couches in the front area of the shop were probably a dozen young, beautiful Vietnamese woman wearing the same tight, low cut red dress. Further into the shop was a woman cutting a man’s hair. I figured Monday was probably cut and blow day (ba dum tsss)    Read more

  • Tastes Like ChickenHong Kong & Vietnam 2018
    Day 19

    Ho Chi Minh City 2

    July 3, 2018 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 32 °C

    We were up fairly early this morning as we were to be picked up at 8:30 am by the ladies from XO Tours for our Saigon City motorbike tour. They arrived at the scheduled time, gave us some quick do’s and dont’s about riding in traffic, and we headed off into rush hour with our plastic buckets affixed to our heads.

    Within 30 seconds we were in the middle of it all with hundreds of scooters ahead of us, hundreds behind us and riding at least 10 abreast. Initially it was scary as hell and thrilling at the same time. To be riding in that kind of traffic with other scooters, and the occasional car/truck/bus at your front, back, and sides mere inches (and quite often a lot less) away was an experience. It actually sounded like being in the middle of a swarm of bees with the buzzing of all the little scooter engines.

    Initially we all had death grips with both hands on the seat rails, hanging on for dear life, except for Nat who had one hand clasped to her driver’s waist and the other firmly bolted to the rail (us boys weren’t allowed to touch the ladies). After a while our confidence grew and we eventually loosened up our grips. Keegan was trying his best to look nonchalant by not hanging onto anything and ended up sliding up the seat and slamming into his driver when she had to brake suddenly. Lesson learned.

    We stopped at several sights where Tai, our excellent tour guide, would explain the significance of each. Of note, we visited the memorial built to commemorate the Buddhist monk who set himself on fire in 1963 to protest the government, of which there is the famous photo:

    https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/the-burning-mo…

    And the building where the last helicopter out of Saigon took off from the rooftop in 1975 during the fall of Saigon

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon

    We also stopped at the Saigon Central Post Office, a beautiful French Colonial building, where we met a fascinating character. Mr. Ngo is 88 years old and has been working at the post office for over 70 years as a letter translator, translating letters from Vietnamese to English or French and vice versa. He is the last surviving letter translator in the city. Apparently he officially retired in 1990 but the city asked if he would continue his service, so he still shows up for work everyday, bicycling in from his home.

    We made some other stops as well to sample Vietnamese desserts, fruits, and drinks. All in all a really enjoyable tour and highly recommended.

    After our tour we chilled in our rooms for a while, cooling off yet again from the sticky heat before setting out to another craft beer pub. Several beers and some excellent pub food was enjoyed while we waited out a torrential downpour before heading back to the hotel.

    Dinner tonight was at a French creperie, similar to what you would find in Paris and just as delicious. We are really enjoying the food in Saigon. I guess it’s the heavy French influence but it has all been very good, hotel breakfast not withstanding.

    One annoying habit in this city that we have encountered many times is scooter driving on the sidewalk. Because the sidewalks here are much wider and have the space, many drivers circumnavigate slower traffic by driving on the sidewalk. They will even honk at you if you are in their path. It’s awfully tempting to throw a hip at those bastards as they pass by.    Read more

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